Conflict of Interest Guidelines for the Review of Appointment Cases for Research Specialists at Academia Sinica
Approved on June 30, 2023
- During peer review of appointment cases for Research Specialists of all ranks at Academia Sinica Institutes,
Preparatory Offices and Research Centers, the following situations should be avoided:
- Review committee members (including the Chair) and reviewers having the following relationship with the
candidate:
- Candidate’s spouse or relative within the third degree of kinship by blood or marriage.
- Candidate’s advisor for master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation or postdoctoral research carried out in the past five years.
- Reviewers have co-authored works or carried out jointly-executed projects with the candidate in the past five years.
- Review committee members (including the Chair) and reviewers having the following relationship with the
candidate:
- Review committee members (including the Chair) who have co-authored works or carried out jointly-executed projects with the candidate in the past five years should provide a declaration of the works and projects in the materials submitted for review.
- In cases where it proves difficult to find suitable reviewers, reviewers with the qualifications described in Subparagraph 2 of Article 1 may be invited to serve, provided that all co-authored works and jointly-executed projects with the candidate are clearly declared. The appointment committee should state the reasons for selecting such reviewers in its overall report. Before casting votes at the Council for Institute, Research Center or Preparatory Office, these circumstances should be clearly stated to individuals with voting rights. After the case has been passed, the unit supervisor should also state the reason for selecting such reviewers in the comments section of the Director’s Referral Form and submit it to the Review Committee for Research Technical Personnel.
- The Director of the AS Institute or Research Center should serve as an ex officio member or Chair of the appointment review committee according to their regulations. However, under circumstances described in Article 1, the Director should recuse themselves from serving as member or Chair, and appoint an agent on their behalf.